electricalswitchwiring
I have two 3-gang boxes (with 3-way switches) to control 3 sets of lights within our kitchen. Since there are two entrances to the kitchen, I have a box at each door. My main question is how to connect the two boxes together. Do I use 3 runs of 14/3 or a combination of 14/3 and 14/2. Here is my schematic if anyone can help.
Your plan sounds about right, but you'll likely run into trouble fitting all the wires in the connectors. Wire connectors have a limit to the number of wires they can connect, so you'll have to be aware of this limit and work within it. This may mean having pigtails between a couple bundles, or using larger connectors. Check the manufacturer's documentation, to determine the proper wire connector to use.
To clear up your confusion, have a look at a basic light circuit. Two blacks on the switch is very common:
You probably can't separate the lights without running additional cables. They're connected in a string, and you can't switch them independently unless the hot for each passes through the switch box.
Best Answer
Basically you need three 14/3 cables between the two boxes. Wire each pair as a set of 3-way switches.
Here is a basic diagram. Just do this for each set of 3-ways. The only difference is that you will need to pigtail three leads onto the incoming feed wire to feed each switch in the first box, and splice all the white wires together since they are all sharing the same circuit. At the box with the switch legs you will splice each white to it's corresponding white going to the lights.